Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
The world’s largest electric cruise ship has made its maiden voyage in China, after cruising up and down the Yangtze River and settling into port in Yichang. It is developed by China Yangtze Power.
It is powered by a massive 7,500 kilowatt-hour marine battery from the top battery manufacturer for electric cars, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). The ship will go into commercial operations from next month, to be used mainly for sightseeing trips.

Notes:
According to data from the Reserve Bank of India, a total of 27 scheduled commercial banks and financial institutions have reported 96 cases of fraud, involving a total amount of Rs 34,097 crore during April-December 2021.
While Punjab National Bank recorded the highest value of frauds worth Rs 4,820 crore, Bank of India recorded the highest number of frauds at 13.

Notes:
Tripura Chief Minister Bipab Kumar Deb recently launched “Mukhyamantri Nibir Matsyachash Prakalpa”. It is an integrated fishery scheme.
Tripura government has allocated Rs 6 crore in the budget for promotion and support to biofloc technology for fish production. The Chief Minster also pushed for Biofloc Fish Farming as a environment-friendly technique for fish farming.

Notes:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that his government has decided to start doorstep delivery of ration in the state.
While it is an optional scheme, the government officials will call Punjab’s residents and ask them for their preferred time slot. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tried to implement the same scheme in Delhi.

Notes:
Novaya Gazeta is Russia’s leading independent newspaper. Dmitry Muratov, the newspaper’s editor, shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Maria Ressa, from the Philippines. Muratov donated his Nobel medal to be auctioned off to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.
The newspaper has suspended its operations after pressure from Russian authorities. Russian lawmakers passed a law earlier, threatening jail terms of up to 15 years for information deemed to be fake by Russian authorities.

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment, forest and climate change issued an order, exempting SDN1 and SDN2 genome edited plants from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protect Act (EPA) for manufacture, use or import or export and storage of hazardous microorganisms or genetically engineered organisms or cells rules-1989.
The exemptions from the rules applicable on genetically modified or GM crops is expected to give a big boost to further research and development of genome-edited crops.

Notes:
A draft recommendation on ‘Biodiversity and health’ was released during the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Geneva.
It will be the key focus area of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The convention, a part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was held physically after two years. It involved discussions to address the need and provide guidance for the One Health approach.

Notes:
Australian Team defeated England by 71 runs in the final to win their record seventh ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Alyssa Healy of Australia smashed 170 to take Australia to a mammoth 356 for five against England in the final. Another player Nat Sciver remained unbeaten on 148. The England team could score only 285 in 43.4 overs.

Notes:
Arunachal Pradesh signed a pact with WWF India to develop the State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (SBSAP).
The SBSAP will be aligned with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and Pakke Declaration. The state cabinet adopted the ‘Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 Declaration on Climate Change Resilient and Responsive Arunachal Pradesh’, last year.

Notes:
The US-based National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate three experimental HIV vaccines based on a messenger RNA (mRNA) platform.
It is the technology used in several approved COVID-19 vaccines. This study named HVTN 302 is sponsored by NIAID while the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network is conducting the trial.